| 1. |
|
|
| 2. |
- Gallo, Valentina, et al.
(författare)
-
Social Inequalities and Mortality in Europe - Results from a Large Multi-National Cohort
- 2012
-
Ingår i: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 7:7
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Socio-economic inequalities in mortality are observed at the country level in both North America and Europe. The purpose of this work is to investigate the contribution of specific risk factors to social inequalities in cause-specific mortality using a large multi-country cohort of Europeans. Methods: A total of 3,456,689 person/years follow-up of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) was analysed. Educational level of subjects coming from 9 European countries was recorded as proxy for socioeconomic status (SES). Cox proportional hazard model's with a step-wise inclusion of explanatory variables were used to explore the association between SES and mortality; a Relative Index of Inequality (RII) was calculated as measure of relative inequality. Results: Total mortality among men with the highest education level is reduced by 43% compared to men with the lowest (HR 0.57, 95% C.I. 0.52-0.61); among women by 29% (HR 0.71, 95% C.I. 0.64-0.78). The risk reduction was attenuated by 7% in men and 3% in women by the introduction of smoking and to a lesser extent (2% in men and 3% in women) by introducing body mass index and additional explanatory variables (alcohol consumption, leisure physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake) (3% in men and 5% in women). Social inequalities were highly statistically significant for all causes of death examined in men. In women, social inequalities were less strong, but statistically significant for all causes of death except for cancer-related mortality and injuries. Discussion: In this European study, substantial social inequalities in mortality among European men and women which cannot be fully explained away by accounting for known common risk factors for chronic diseases are reported.
|
|
| 3. |
- Schaap, M. M., et al.
(författare)
-
Effect of nationwide tobacco control policies on smoking cessation in high and low educated groups in 18 European countries
- 2008
-
Ingår i: Tobacco Control. - : BMJ. - 0964-4563 .- 1468-3318. ; 17:4, s. 248-255
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Recently a scale was introduced to quantify the implementation of tobacco control policies at country level. Our study used this scale to examine the potential impact of these policies on quit ratios in European countries. Special attention was given to smoking cessation among lower educational groups. Methods: Cross-sectional data were derived from national health surveys from 18 European countries. In the analyses we distinguished between country, sex, two age groups (25-39 and 40-59 years) and educational level. Age-standardised quit ratios were calculated as total former-smokers divided by total ever-smokers. In regression analyses we explored the correlation between national quit ratios and the national score on the Tobacco Control Scale (TCS). Results: Quit ratios were especially high (> 45%) in Sweden, England, The Netherlands, Belgium and France and relatively low (< 30%) in Lithuania and Latvia. Higher educated smokers were more likely to have quit smoking than lower educated smokers in all age-sex groups in all countries. National score on the tobacco control scale was positively associated with quit ratios in all age-sex groups. The association of quit ratios with score on TCS did not show consistent differences between high and low education. Of all tobacco control policies of which the TCS is constructed, price policies showed the strongest association with quit ratios, followed by an advertising ban. Conclusion: Countries with more developed tobacco control policies have higher quit ratios than countries with less developed tobacco control policies. High and low educated smokers benefit about equally from the nationwide tobacco control policies.
|
|
| 4. |
- Baars, Adája E, et al.
(författare)
-
Fruit and vegetable consumption and its contribution to inequalities in life expectancy and disability-free life expectancy in ten European countries
- 2019
-
Ingår i: International Journal of Public Health. - : Springer. - 1661-8556 .- 1661-8564. ; 64:6, s. 861-872
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: To assess to what extent educational differences in total life expectancy (TLE) and disability-free life expectancy (DFLE) could be reduced by improving fruit and vegetable consumption in ten European countries.METHODS: Data from national census or registries with mortality follow-up, EU-SILC, and ESS were used in two scenarios to calculate the impact: the upward levelling scenario (exposure in low educated equals exposure in high educated) and the elimination scenario (no exposure in both groups). Results are estimated for men and women between ages 35 and 79 years.RESULTS: Varying by country, upward levelling reduced inequalities in DFLE by 0.1-1.1 years (1-10%) in males, and by 0.0-1.3 years (0-18%) in females. Eliminating exposure reduced inequalities in DFLE between 0.6 and 1.7 years for males (6-15%), and between 0.1 years and 1.8 years for females (3-20%).CONCLUSIONS: Upward levelling of fruit and vegetable consumption would have a small, positive effect on both TLE and DFLE, and could potentially reduce inequalities in TLE and DFLE.
|
|
| 5. |
- Di Girolamo, Chiara, et al.
(författare)
-
Progress in reducing inequalities in cardiovascular disease mortality in Europe
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Heart. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 1355-6037 .- 1468-201X. ; 106, s. 40-49
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To assess whether recent declines in cardiovascular mortality have benefited all socioeconomic groups equally and whether these declines have narrowed or widened inequalities in cardiovascular mortality in Europe.METHODS: In this prospective registry-based study, we determined changes in cardiovascular mortality between the 1990s and the early 2010s in 12 European populations by gender, educational level and occupational class. In order to quantify changes in the magnitude of differences in mortality, we calculated both ratio measures of relative inequalities and difference measures of absolute inequalities.RESULTS: Cardiovascular mortality has declined rapidly among lower and higher socioeconomic groups. Relative declines (%) were faster among higher socioeconomic groups; absolute declines (deaths per 100 000 person-years) were almost uniformly larger among lower socioeconomic groups. Therefore, although relative inequalities increased over time, absolute inequalities often declined substantially on all measures used. Similar trends were seen for ischaemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease mortality separately. Best performer was England and Wales, which combined large declines in cardiovascular mortality with large reductions in absolute inequalities and stability in relative inequalities in both genders. In the early 2010s, inequalities in cardiovascular mortality were smallest in Southern Europe, of intermediate magnitude in Northern and Western Europe and largest in Central-Eastern European and Baltic countries.CONCLUSIONS: Lower socioeconomic groups have experienced remarkable declines in cardiovascular mortality rates over the last 25 years, and trends in inequalities can be qualified as favourable overall. Nevertheless, further reducing inequalities remains an important challenge for European health systems and policies.
|
|
| 6. |
- Eikemo, Terje A., et al.
(författare)
-
How Can Inequalities in Mortality Be Reduced? : A Quantitative Analysis of 6 Risk Factors in 21 European Populations
- 2014
-
Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 9:11, s. e110952-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Socioeconomic inequalities in mortality are one of the greatest challenges for health policy in all European countries, but the potential for reducing these inequalities is unclear. We therefore quantified the impact of equalizing the distribution of six risk factors for mortality: smoking, overweight, lack of physical exercise, lack of social participation, low income, and economic inactivity. Methods: We collected and harmonized data on mortality and risk factors by educational level for 21 European populations in the early 2000s. The impact of the risk factors on mortality in each educational group was determined using Population Attributable Fractions. We estimated the impact on inequalities in mortality of two scenarios: a theoretical upward levelling scenario in which inequalities in the risk factor were completely eliminated, and a more realistic best practice scenario, in which inequalities in the risk factor were reduced to those seen in the country with the smallest inequalities for that risk factor. Findings: In general, upward levelling of inequalities in smoking, low income and economic inactivity hold the greatest potential for reducing inequalities in mortality. While the importance of low income is similar across Europe, smoking is more important in the North and East, and overweight in the South. On the basis of best practice scenarios the potential for reducing inequalities in mortality is often smaller, but still substantial in many countries for smoking and physical inactivity. Interpretation: Theoretically, there is a great potential for reducing inequalities in mortality in most European countries, for example by equity-oriented tobacco control policies, income redistribution and employment policies. Although it is necessary to achieve substantial degrees of upward levelling to make a notable difference for inequalities in mortality, the existence of best practice countries with more favourable distributions for some of these risk factors suggests that this is feasible.
|
|
| 7. |
- Espelt, A., et al.
(författare)
-
Socioeconomic inequalities in diabetes mellitus across Europe at the beginning of the 21st century
- 2008
-
Ingår i: Diabetologia. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0012-186X .- 1432-0428. ; 51:11, s. 1971-1979
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Europe, educational attainment and diabetes are inversely related, in terms of both morbidity and mortality rates. This underlines the importance of targeting interventions towards low SEP groups. Access and use of healthcare services by people with diabetes also need to be improved.
|
|
| 8. |
- Hoffmann, Rasmus, et al.
(författare)
-
Amenable mortality revisited : the AMIEHS study
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Gaceta Sanitaria. - : Elsevier BV. - 0213-9111 .- 1578-1283. ; 27:3, s. 199-206
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ObjectivesThere is a renewed interest in health system indicators. In 1976 a measure of quality of healthcare, amenable mortality, was introduced by Rutstein. This indicator is based on the concept that deaths from certain causes should not occur in the presence of timely and effective healthcare. In the project “Amenable mortality in the European Union: toward better indicators for the effectiveness of health systems” (AMIEHS), we introduce a new approach to the selection of indicators of amenable mortality.MethodsBased on predefined selection criteria and a broad review of the literature on the effectiveness of medical interventions, a first set of potential indicators of amenable mortality (causes of death) was selected. The timing of the introduction of medical innovations was established through reviews and questionnaires sent to national experts from seven participating European countries. The preselected indicators were then validated by a trend analysis that identified associations between the timing of innovations and cause-specific mortality trends and by a Delphi-procedure.ResultsAfter a short review of previous lists of amenable mortality indicators and a detailed description of the innovative procedure in the AMIEHS project we present a list of 14 causes of death that passed our selection criteria. We illustrate our empirical validation of these indicators using the examples of peptic ulcer and renal failure.ConclusionsThe innovation developed in the AMIEHS study is a rigorous new approach to the concept of amenable mortality that includes empirical validation. Only validated indicators can be successfully used to assess the quality of healthcare systems in international comparisons.
|
|
| 9. |
- Hoffmann, Rasmus, et al.
(författare)
-
Innovations in health care and mortality trends from five cancers in seven European countries between 1970 and 2005
- 2014
-
Ingår i: International Journal of Public Health. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1661-8556 .- 1661-8564. ; 59:2, s. 341-350
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although the contribution of health care to survival from cancer has been studied extensively, much less is known about its contribution to population health. We examine how medical innovations have influenced trends in cause-specific mortality at the national level. Based on literature reviews, we selected six innovations with proven effectiveness against cervical cancer, Hodgkin's disease, breast cancer, testicular cancer, and leukaemia. With data on the timing of innovations and cause-specific mortality (1970-2005) from seven European countries we identified associations between innovations and favourable changes in mortality. For none of the five specific cancers, sufficient evidence for an association between introduction of innovations and a positive change in mortality could be found. The highest association was found between the introduction of Tamoxifen and breast cancer mortality. The lack of evidence of health care effectiveness may be due to gradual improvements in treatment, to effects limited to certain age groups or cancer subtypes, and to contemporaneous changes in cancer incidence. Research on the impact of health care innovations on population health is limited by unreliable data on their introduction.
|
|
| 10. |
- Hoffmann, Rasmus, et al.
(författare)
-
Innovations in medical care and mortality trends from four circulatory diseases between 1970 and 2005
- 2013
-
Ingår i: European Journal of Public Health. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1101-1262 .- 1464-360X. ; 23:5, s. 852-857
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background:Governments have identified innovation in pharmaceuticals and medical technology as a priority for health policy. Although the contribution of medical care to health has been studied extensively in clinical settings, much less is known about its contribution to population health. We examine how innovations in the management of four circulatory disorders have influenced trends in cause-specific mortality at the population level.Methods:Based on literature reviews, we selected six medical innovations with proven effectiveness against hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, heart failure and cerebrovascular disease. We combined data on the timing of these innovations and cause-specific mortality trends (1970-2005) from seven European countries. We sought to identify associations between the introduction of innovations and favourable changes in mortality, using Joinpoint-models based on linear spline regression.Results:For both ischaemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease, the timing of medical innovations was associated with improved mortality in four out of five countries and five out of seven countries, respectively, depending on the innovation. This suggests that innovation has impacted positively on mortality at the population level. For hypertension and heart failure, such associations could not be identified.Conclusion:Although improvements in cause-specific mortality coincide with the introduction of some innovations, this is not invariably true. This is likely to reflect the incremental effects of many interventions, the time taken for them to be adopted fully and the presence of contemporaneous changes in disease incidence. Research on the impact of medical innovations on population health is limited by unreliable data on their introduction.
|
|
